Tennis News

TOKYO, Japan – No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova came back from a set down against Lucie Safarova to move into the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open after a two-and-a-half-hour thriller.

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Cibulkova drew a tough first-round match against Safarova, last year’s French Open finalist. After suffering a bacterial infection that derailed her season, Safarova has slipped down the rankings and sits at No.43, making her a dangerous floater. But Cibulkova got the job done, edging past the Czech 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Under the roof at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park, Cibulkova pounced on Safarova’s vulnerable second serve to keep her under pressure throughout the first set. But the momentum soon shifted after Safarova finally won a second serve point to bat away Cibulkova’s break point chance. Safarova found another gear, breaking Cibulkova’s serve in the next game with a blistering cross-court backhand return.

Cibulkova rebounded in the second set, floating a drop shot just out of reach to grab an early break for a 3-1 lead. The drop shot was Cibulkova’s go-to weapon throughout the match, employing nine of them during the three sets. A double fault from Safarova cost her a second break as Cibulkova quickly rattled off five games in a row to take the second set.

Both players wrestled with the momentum in the deciding set, trading breaks twice and keeping each other under pressure before Cibulkova finally got the edge at 6-5. She hit her boldest drop shot of the match to clinch the victory after two and a half hours.

A drop shot on match point?!

Pome, @Cibulkova! ? #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/KipGWe6RAA

— WTA (@WTA) September 20, 2016

Cibulkova sets up a clash with 18-year-old wildcard Naomi Osaka, Japan’s No.2 player and a hometown favorite, in the next round.

2013 champion Petra Kvitova is also through to the next round after scoring a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Madison Brengle.

Kvitova broke the American’s serve three times and fought off six of her chances to ease past her in an hour and thirteen minutes. She’ll take on Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig next for a spot in the quarterfinals.

More to come…

THE WINNERS

Christina McHale produced a stirring comeback to defeat Katerina Siniakova in the final of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis and lift her maiden WTA title.

A semifinalist 12 months ago, McHale looked in store for another near-miss when she trailed Siniakova by a set and a break. However, a timely rain delay and a run of eight straight games turned the match on its head as the American closed out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

“I don’t even want to put my trophy down – I just want to hold it all the time,” McHale said during the trophy presentation. “I’ve been coming to this tournament for a few years now and I really love it here.”

Read the match recap here.

French teenager Oceane Dodin thrilled the Coupe Banque Nationale crowd by capturing her first WTA title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Lauren Davis in the final.

“It’s very special for me. This is a very nice tournament; I feel like I’m in France because the people are very friendly and supportive of me! Everyone was with me today and that helps so much when it’s a tough score.”

Dodin twice reached the second round of major tournaments in 2015, but coming into this week in Québec, the fearless Frenchwoman had never won a main draw match outside the Grand Slams – though she did reach the semifinals of a WTA 125K Series event in Limoges.

Read the match recap here.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of September 19, 2016.

Oceane Dodin (FRA), +39 (No.132 to 93): Following her maiden WTA title at the Coupe Banque Nationale, Dodin made her Top 100 debut and sits at a career-high of No.93..

Lauren Davis (USA), +21 (No.104 to 83): Québec City finalist also made a big leap, jumping up 21 spots to return to inside the Top100.

Katerina Siniakova (CZE), +12 (No.65 to 53): Despite coming up just short in the final at the Tokyo International, Siniakova earned a 12-spot ranking jump to reach her career highest ranking.

Christina McHale (USA), +11 (No.53 to 42): McHale claimed her maiden WTA title in Tokyo, and along with it she earned a spot back inside the Top 50.

Shuai Zhang (CHN), +9 (No.49 to 40): Zhang’s run to the semifinals in Tokyo puts her new ranking at No.40, inching closer to her career-high of No.30 back in 2014

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Toray Pan Pacific Open
Tokyo, Japan
Premier | $885,500 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
Defending champion: Agnieszka Radwanska

Guangzhou International Women’s Open
Guangzhou, China
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Saturday, September 24
Defending champion: Jelena Jankovic

Korea Open Tennis
Seoul, Korea
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
Defending champion: Irina-Camelia Begu

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Angelique Kerber – Wuhan
2. Serena Williams – Wuhan
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Tokyo, Wuhan
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Tokyo, Wuhan
5. Simona Halep– Wuhan
6. Karolina Pliskova – Tokyo, Wuhan
7. Venus Williams – Wuhan
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Tokyo, Wuhan
9. Madison Keys – Tokyo, Wuhan
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Wuhan
11. Victoria Azarenka
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Tokyo, Wuhan
13. Johanna Konta – Wuhan
14. Timea Bacsinszky – Wuhan
15. Roberta Vinci – Guangzhou, Wuhan
16. Petra Kvitova – Tokyo, Wuhan
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Tokyo, Wuhan
18. Samantha Stosur – Tokyo, Wuhan
19. Elena Vesnina
20. Elina Svitolina – Tokyo, Wuhan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Chan Hao-Ching (TPE) – September 19, 1993
Sabine Lisicki (GER) – September 22, 1989
Andreea Mitu (ROU) – September 22, 1991
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik (POL) – September 24, 1984
Monica Niculescu (ROU) – September 25, 1987

Coupe Banque Nationale champion Oceane Dodin became the latest teenager to make her Top 100 debut in 2016 following her maiden WTA title.

Dodin had won just two main draw matches heading into Québec, but both were at major tournaments over Top 40 players in 2015. The 19-year-old is currently riding a 10 match winning streak on two different surfaces, including five wins to capture an ITF 25K Challenger tournament in Barcelona.

Rising up 39 spots since last week, Dodin currently sits at No.93, and is the sixth youngest woman in the Top 100.

Québec City finalist Lauren Davis also made a big leap, returning to the Top 100 herself with a 21-spot jump to become the new World No.83 after making her second WTA final in as many months.

Who else made major moves? Find out below and click here to check out the full WTA rankings.

#WTA Ranking Movers

Zhang +9 (49 to 40)
McHale +11 (53 to 42)
Siniakova +12 (65 to 53)
Davis +21 (104 to 83)
Dodin +39 (132 to 93)

— WTA (@WTA) September 19, 2016

TOKYO, Japan – Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka scored her first win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in emphatic fashion, knocking out Japan’s No.1 Misaki Doi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Following her first round win at last week’s Japan Women’s Open Tennis, Osaka entered the Premier-level event on a career-high ranking of No.69, making her Japan’s No.2-ranked player. But across the net stood the Japanese No.1, who was looking to rebound from last week’s opening round loss.

Osaka blasted seven aces in her stellar performance against Doi. Both players were evenly matched throughout the one and a half hour encounter, but it was Osaka who dominated the big points, bringing up five break chances and converting two – one early in each set.

For her part, Doi did her best to stay within touching distance of the 18-year-old, but couldn’t find the weapons to put her under pressure. She brought up her first – and only – break opportunity late in the second set with Osaka serving for a 5-3 lead. Osaka batted it away with a zinging forehand down the line to stay on course.

A final ace sealed Osaka’s passage into the second round, where she awaits the winner between Lucie Safarova and No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova.

More to come…

QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – French teenager Oceane Dodin thrilled the Coupe Banque Nationale crowd by capturing her first WTA title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Lauren Davis in the final.

“It was a very tough match, very difficult,” Dodin said after the win. “She plays very well, and runs everywhere! I’m just trying to improve my game so I’m there for every point, focus on my serve. That helped me so much in this match.”

Dodin twice reached the second round of major tournaments in 2015, but coming into this week in Québec, the fearless Frenchwoman had never won a main draw match outside the Grand Slams – though she did reach the semifinals of a WTA 125K Series event in Limoges.

“It’s very special for me. This is a very nice tournament; I feel like I’m in France because the people are very friendly and supportive of me! Everyone was with me today and that helps so much when it’s a tough score.”

Victoire de Océane Dodin 6-4 et 6-3! Championne 2016 de la @CoupeBN. 1ère victoire dans un tournoi de la #WTA #rcqc pic.twitter.com/ukPdaQUmno

— Jean-Philippe Martin (@JPMartin_RC) September 18, 2016

But the 19-year-old got on a roll once she upset No.5 seed Naomi Broady, dropping just one more set en route to the title. Hitting 31 winners to just 26 unforced errors against Davis on Sunday, Dodin converted six of 10 break point chances and brought her aggressive ground game to net a whopping 26 times – winning 16 of those points. Up a set and a break, things started to tighten, but Dodin kept in front until the very end.

“After the first set, I started thinking, ‘One set and you’re going to win this tournament,’ so I started getting a little bit nervous and at 3-0, 40-0, I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ She made a little comeback, so at the end I was very nervous.

“I was thinking, ‘You can’t play a third set, so you absolutely have to win the second.’ My coach has helped me so much with the mental side, and I saw him like, ‘Go, go, go!’ So I’m very happy with myself.”

With the win, Dodin is set to crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, and is the first teenager to win a WTA title in 2016. She received congratulations from countrywoman Caroline Garcia soon after:

1e titre WTA pour Oceane Dodin !!! @CoupeBN ??? Bravo Océ et bienvenue dans le top 100 !!!
4e titre @WTA pour la ?? en 2016 !
Correct ????

— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) September 18, 2016

Despite the loss, it was still a great week for Davis, who reached her second career WTA final in the last two months, having also finished runner-up at the Citi Open. Back in the Top 100 herself, Davis is opting to skip the Asian swing, planning instead to play the slate of indoor tournaments in Europe, primarily Linz and Luxembourg, before season’s end.

“I’ve gotten a lot of matches under my belt, and so I’m feeling a lot of confidence. Going into next season, I’m looking forward to playing even better.”

While youth prevailed in singles, it was a battle between four experience doubles players as top seeds and two-time Grand Slam champions Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka outlasted Russians Alla Kudryavtseva and Alexandra Panova in a pair of tie-breaks, 7-6(2), 7-6(2).

“With the no-ad scoring and super tie-breaks, it’s very rare to get an easy match on the WTA tour these days,” Hlavackova said after the win. “So that experience helped today; we didn’t have a good record in tie-breaks, super tie-breaks, or no-ads before Québec, so we took this tournament to try to change that. We did, and we’re very happy about it.”

Hlavackova and Hradecka now move up to No.5 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, with a good chance of qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for a second straight year.

“We’ve played together for so long that not every week can be perfect. But this week was proof that if you’re having fun, you have good results. I hope we can take this momentum into Asia.”

So nice to make hat-trick in doubles titles this year,finally adding one ? with my partner @lucik2105 @CoupeBN @WTA pic.twitter.com/MBegMtfrUa

— Andrea Hlavackova (@AndreaHlavackov) September 18, 2016